Your hands clench. Your body twitches.
Just ignore it.
You keep your head down as the four of you return to the bar area, where J was washing windows with an annoyed expression.
"Hi, J!" N greets enthusiastically.
"Hey."
"Hello, J." V mutters.
"Hey."
"Hi, J," you say as you slump into one of the bar stools.
"Hey."
"Wave," said Cyn as she waved at J.
"Throw yourself in a dumpster."
"Good to see you too, J." Cyn said, walking behind the counter. Cyn walked behind the bar counter, climbing onto the counter. "Climbing. Criss cross applesauce."
You sigh, slumping into one of the bar stools.
"So how'd it go with R?" N asked J.
J glanced back at N with the straightest face. "He got shut down."
N, still cheerful as ever, hums softly, clearly trying to lighten the mood. "That’s good! No more trouble from him, right?"
J doesn’t respond right away, focusing on her task of cleaning the windows with a mix of irritation and focus. "Yeah," she says flatly. "I’d say he won’t be causing problems for a while."
Cyn perks up, suddenly turning to face J with a curious face. "Did he break anything important?"
J doesn’t look at her, but a small smirk tugs at the corner of her mouth. "Not this time. Mostly just a few laundry baskets. Though, I’ll bet he’s probably more useful as scrap than he ever was as a drone."
N lets out a light laugh. "J, I think you're being too hard on him."
"I’m just being honest," she retorts. "That’s more than I can say for some of you." Her eyes flicker towards you and Cyn, but Cyn doesn’t seem to register the insult at all.
N looks over at you, trying to gauge your mood, but he seems a bit hesitant. "You okay, Y/N?" he asks softly, his voice warm and concerned.
You glance up at him, your visor flickering for a moment as your thoughts swirl. You know you shouldn’t let Louisa’s words get to you, but they still sting.
"Yeah," you finally say, though it’s not entirely convincing. "Just... fine."
N gives you a supportive smile. "Well, if you need anything, just let me know, okay?"
You nod, your visor flickering slightly as you give him a small smile in return. "Thanks, N."
The bar is silent for a moment, save for the sound of J's window cleaning and you twitchingly tapping your fingers idly on the counter.
Cyn suddenly leans forward, her neon-yellow eyes locking onto you. "Sulking."
You groan, dropping your head onto the counter. "I'm not sulking."
"You are sulking," J mutters, not looking up from her cleaning. "It’s pathetic."
N gasps dramatically. "J! Be nice!"
J rolls her eyes. "I am being nice. I could’ve said worse."
Cyn tilts her head. "Curious. What could be worse?"
J smirks. "I could say Y/N is the most *useless* drone here. But I won’t." She pauses, then adds, "Wait. I just did."
You twitch.
N groans. "J…"
V shifts uncomfortably. "J, come on, not now."
Cyn blinks. "Would now be an appropriate time for retaliation?"
J waves a dismissive hand. "Pfft. You wish you could out-insult me, Cyn."
"Challenge accepted." Cyn slowly raises a hand and dramatically points at J. "You look like a discount mop."
N audibly gasps. "Ooooh!"
J stops wiping the window. Slowly, she turns around, visor flickering slightly. "What."
You shrink into your chair, your eyes wide. "Gasp." You whisper..
"Can we please not start this right now?" N asks.
J crosses her arms. "Oh, I welcome it. I’ve been waiting for someone to actually *try* me." She smirks at Cyn. "Go ahead. See if you can keep up."
Cyn narrows her eyes. "You are about as pleasant as a malfunctioning vending machine."
J scoffs. "And you’re about as functional as a brick."
Cyn grips her chest. "Dramatic gasp. Wounded. Collapsing." She slumps onto the counter.
N claps his hands, with a sheepish grin. "Okay! That’s enough of that!"
V nods. "Agreed. Let’s not give Louisa any more reasons to complain about us."
J huffs but returns to her cleaning.
You sigh, resting your head against the counter. It’s been a long day. Between dodging R’s chaos, dealing with Louisa, and now J’s endless supply of insults, you feel… drained.
N, ever the optimist, nudges you lightly. “Hey, Y/N, you wanna see a cool trick?”
You lift your head slightly. “A trick?”
N nods excitedly, reaching for one of the empty glasses behind the bar. He spins it in his hand, balancing it on the tip of his finger. “Ta-da!”
You blink. “…That’s it?”
N pouts. “Wait, I wasn’t done yet! Watch this—” He flicks the glass up, then quickly moves his hand to catch it behind his back.
Except he doesn’t.
The glass crashes to the floor, shattering into pieces.
J scoffs. “Oh my gosh, you’re so bad at this.”
N looks down at the mess, then rubs the back of his head sheepishly. “Oops.”
Cyn blinks. “Tragic failure.”
V sighs, already moving to grab a broom. “I’ll clean it up.”
You stare at N. Then—despite everything—you let out a small laugh. “Wow, and here I was thinking you were perfect.”
N gasps dramatically, placing a hand on his chest. “Y/N! My reputation! Ruined!”
You shake your head, still smiling. “Guess you’re just as clumsy as the rest of us.”
N grins. “Yup! But hey, at least I try, right?”
You hesitate, then nod. “Yeah… I guess.”
J rolls her eyes. “Ugh. This is getting way too sentimental. Somebody break another glass so I can at least enjoy this conversation.”
Cyn immediately picks up another glass and drops it on the floor.
Everyone stares at her.
Cyn tilts her head. “Request fulfilled.”
You shake your head. For all the chaos, for all the dysfunction, for all the problems—you wouldn’t trade this group for anything.
Maybe you weren’t perfect. Maybe you never would be.
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But maybe that was okay.
ns216.73.216.238da2
